There might be no higher priority for the Alabama staff next year than Foley wide receiver Julio Jones, 6-foot-3, 202-pounds, who is being considered among a handful of prospects for the nation's top spot. So it was natural for Tide fans to wonder what affect the hiring of Saban had on Jones, a Mobile native.

"It was good news that Alabama got coach Saban and I'm familiar with him from his time at LSU. It's impressive that he has won a national championship and that is something that I want to do while I'm in college. He knows how to put a championship team together," Jones said. "Also, he's been in the NFL so he knows what it takes to get to that level. He had a bunch of his guys at LSU that went pro too. Down the road I would love to play in the NFL so that is another plus.